Something Worth Trying
by rps-lizardspock
Summary: Now a short series. Sequel of sorts to Something To Tell You. Basically, this is everyone else's reaction to Barney's confession to Ted.
1. Something To Discuss

**Title**: Something To Discuss  
**Characters:** Ted, Marshall, Lily, Robin, Barney  
**Pairing:** Implied Barney/Robin. Marshall/Lily (duh)  
**Raiting:** G  
**Disclaimer:** I don't own How I Met Your Mother, the characters, or anything else you recognize.  
**Summary:** Marshall, Lily and Ted discuss Barney's confession. Companion piece to "Something To Tell You".  
**Warning:** Spoilery for season 4 events. (sorta... just the vague idea)  
**Notes:** For "logicisfailing" at LiveJournal for prompting me to write this.

* * *

"Alright, what is wrong with the two of you? You've been quiet all night and Marshall's being all twitchy," Ted asked, finally getting frustrated with his friends' behavior. They'd been sitting at their usual booth for nearly an hour while waiting for Barney and Robin to show up and Marshall and Lily's behavior was stranger than usual.

"Twitchy? Hahaha. What? No. I'm not twitchy, Ted. You're twitchy!" Marshall said and Lily glared at him.

"Right," Ted said, laughing. "C'mon, you can tell me anything, guys."

"Barney's in love with Robin!" Marshall blurted out before Lily could stop him.

"Marshall!" Lily yelled. "I told Barney I wouldn't tell anyone, which means you're not allowed to tell anyone!"

"Guys, I already know," Ted replied, but Marshall and Lily didn't hear him.

"Baby, you know I can't keep secrets, and this is huge. Ted should know," Marshall defended himself.

"Yeah, but Barney was going to tell him. He'll never tell me anything again if he finds out I told you," Lily said, glaring at Marshall.

"Guys, really," Ted tried again, but it was no use, Marshall and Lily had started having one of their telepathic conversations. He waited for them to finish, knowing that it was no use trying to interrupt them. Finally they looked back up at Ted smiling, as if nothing had happened.

"Are you two done?" Ted asked.

"Yes, Ted, we are," Marshall replied a little guiltily.

"Good, then you can listen to me now. Barney told me last night. And he already assumed that you would tell Marshall, Lily," Ted said. Lily looked a little guilty for a fraction of a second.

"He told you? Just like that? You're taking this better then I thought you would," Lily said, clearly surprised by Ted's lack of a reaction. "Aren't you mad?"

"Mad? No," Ted replied. "No, not mad. It is a bit weird, though."

"See Lily, I told you he wouldn't be mad," Marshall said looking at Lily. "I told her you wouldn't be mad," he said now to Ted. "But does she listen to me? Nooooo. She's all 'Oh, poor Ted, he's going to be so upset', and..." Lily cut him off with a glare and he recoiled immediately and instead decided to focus on the condensation on his glass.

"I just thought that you'd be a little upset, Ted," Lily tried to defend herself. "I mean, you stopped talking to him when you found out he slept with her."

"Yeah, I know, I know," Ted replied. "But I didn't see it before. I thought it was just Barney being Barney, you know? I just didn't want her to be another one of his one night stands. But when we talked last night, I just... how did I not see it? All this time it's been staring us in the face."

"Yeah, it has been," Lily said.

"He said that you figured it out on your own, Lil. How'd you know?" Ted asked. "Because if he hadn't told me then the thought would never have even crossed my mind."

"Well," Lily said, getting into story-telling mode. "It was one night when Barney was still in the hospital. I was about to walk in when I heard Barney shout at the nurse and kick her out, so I decided to hang back for a minute while Robin calmed him down..."

* * *

_Robin smiled apologetically at the nurse just before she went storming out of the room ranting and raving about patients needing manners. She walked over to his bed and uncovered the food that the nurse had brought in._

_"You really didn't have to be so rude to her, Barney," Robin scolded as she picked up the spoon that was set on the side table._

_"Please, Scherbatsky, that woman was asking for it!" Barney said, waving his casted arm for added emphasis._

_"She asked you how you were feeling today," Robin responded._

_"And your point?" Barney retorted rudely._

_"My point is, just because you're in pain but wont admit it, and because you're not due for anymore painkillers for another hour - don't think I haven't checked - doesn't mean you get to take your crap mood out on everyone else. And if you're going to be that way with me, I'm leaving," she said and started to walk out of the room._

_"No, wait!" Barney called and she stopped immediately and turned around. "I'm sorry. It's just, I'm not..."_

_"It's ok Barney. Just watch it, okay?"_

_"Yeah. Yeah, okay," he responded and watched as she started taking the cover off of his jello._

_"So I'm going to ask you now, so please don't bite my head off." She said dipping the spoon into the jello and slowly bringing it to Barney's mouth. She waited for him to swallow and then asked, "How are you feeling today?"_

_"Just peachy," he replied sarcastically. She playfully thumped him on the head. "I'm just tired of being 90 percent less awesome than I usually am. You're sitting here feeding me jello because I can't move my arms enough to feed myself and it's not that I don't appreciate it, but it'd be nice to be able to do it myself for awhile."_

_"This is just a short vacation from awesomeness, Barney. And really, think about it. You've been so awesome for so long, it was about time to take a short sabbatical from it. You wouldn't want to overdue the awesome, would you?"_

_"I like the way you think, Scherbatsky," Barney said with a yawn. Robin set aside the jello when it was obvious Barney wasn't going to be eating anymore._

_"I should be going. Let you rest," Robin said, and stood to leave._

_"Wait, Robin," Barney said, and maneuvered his arms enough to touch her hand. "Could you just... just stay with me for awhile? It's just, all these hot nurses walking in here all the time trying to get with The Barnacle keeps me from sleeping."_

_Robin wasn't fooled by his reasoning, but nodded in consent anyway. She went to sit back down on the uncomfortable side chair. She was surprised when Barney managed to scoot himself over enough to make room for her. She almost declined, but there was something about the look on his face that made her unable to voice her protest._

_Instead she said, "If you try anything Stinson, I'm out of here." He scoffed at her playful banter and watched her every move until she was situated with a magazine in hand. He closed his eyes and drifted off._

* * *

"That's what made you realize? Seriously?" Marshall asked, perplexed.

"Seriously. You should have seen the way he was looking at her. Suddenly everything just clicked," she answered, snapping her fingers. "His eyes just light up every time she walks in the room. You've had to have noticed it," Lily said to Marshall.

"Yeah," Ted chimed in. "He's trying to hide it, but you can see it in his eyes. Watch them next time you see him. They're a dead give-away. Robin's the same way, too, you know."

"What?" Lily asked, it being her turn to be out of the loop.

"Oh yeah," Marshall added. "The way she smiles at him when he sits down next to her."

"How she rolls her eyes and fake laughs when he talks about his conquest from the night before," Ted says.

"And she was at the hospital every single day that Barney was there. That's way more than we were there."

"And she touches him far more than is necessary."

"Oh, oh, oh!" Marshall exclaimed. "She said 'legendary' last week. And she's been dropping a lot of awesome-bombs lately."

"But... she's never said anything to me," Lily said, and Marshall and Ted watched as the realization clicked in Lily's head. "Wow," she muttered. "She doesn't even know she has feelings for him, does she?"

Ted shook his head and Marshall opened his mouth to say something, but stopped as Robin and Barney walked into MacClaren's together, laughing about something. Marshall watched Barney's eyes, while Lily watched Robin's movements. Ted just sat there and smiled approvingly as the duo walked to the bar and ordered their drinks.

The three of them sat there in quietly for a long moment before Marshall broke the silence.

"So, who's going to tell Robin that she's in love with Barney?"


	2. Something To Share

It was a long night of booze, lazer tag, and cigars and Barney and Robin had finally resigned themselves to having a few drinks at MacClaren's.

"You really showed Johnny out there tonight, Scherbatsky," Barney said as he took a sip of his scotch. "He never saw it coming... and I think he may have even wet himself."

"Well that's what he gets for talking smack," Robin replied triumphantly. "10 year olds these days, seriously. You know, you were pretty awesome out there, too."

"Yeah I was! Laser tag victory high-five," Barney declared and raised his hand, smiling when Robin reciprocated the gesture.

"So Barney, that hot blonde at the bar is totally checking you out," Robin said as she attempted to get up and help Barney seal the deal for the night. "I'll go get her."

"Robin, wait," Barney said, halting her movements.

"What, is she not hot enough? Or is she too hot? Cause if that's the case you don't have to worry about my abilities. I can get her for you no problem."

"No, that's not it. It's just... can we talk?" Barney asked a little reluctantly.

"Oh," Robin replied, a little confused. "Alright."

They were silent for a moment.

"Was there something in particular that you wanted to talk about?" Robin asked when Barney didn't say anything more.

"Yes, actually. I've been thinking," Barney paused when Robin interrupted him.

"Never a good sign," Robin said jokingly.

"Right, actually, no, never mind. It's not important. How's work?" he asked to change the subject.

"Actually," she started, "I do have some major news... wait, you don't actually want to know how work is, Barney. C'mon what were you going to say? It was obviously important if it takes priority over hooking up with hot slutty chicks."

"Ok, but you have to promise me that you're not going to freak out. Or at least that you'll wait until I'm done before you freak out."

"Yeah," Robin said, starting to get a little worried. "I can do that, what's up?"

"Right, well you know how I'm not really the relationship type? The last real relationship I was in was with someone who turned out to be the complete opposite of who I thought she was. She changed me. Turned me into someone who doesn't do commitment anymore. And I swore to myself that I'd never let anyone get that close again, because it's just not worth it."

"Barney, what are you..." Robin started, but Barney raised his hand to stop her.

"Just, let me finish, ok?" At Robin's nod he proceeded, "When Ted stopped talking to me it was like Shannon all over again, but worse, because I was the one who hurt him not the other way around. I never wanted to feel that way again, so this is a huge risk I'm taking now. Robin, what I'm trying to say is, there's someone I may have... romantic feelings for."

"Oh," Robin said, assuming it was safe to talk now. "Well, that's great, Barney. I mean, a little sudden, I didn't even know you were seeing someone. Is it someone that I know?"

"Oh yeah, you know her," Barney replied, looking at Robin meaningfully.

"Ok, so is it someone that I hooked you up with?"

"No."

"Someone Ted hooked you up with?"

"No."

"Hmm, someone Marshall..."

"Robin, stop! It's you. I have more than strictly friendship feelings for you."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"_Oh!_"

"You said that already. What's with everyone's stupid one syllable reactions?"

"I just... I mean. You. What do you... Are you trying to tell me that you're in love with me?" Robin asked in shock. A million thoughts were running through her head at once and she couldn't tell one from the other.

"Love? Please. No, just, you have to admit we click." Barney responded. He was more than a little unsure how to respond to Robin's obviously negative reaction. "We would be perfect together... no, not 'together' together, just... what would it hurt if we gave it a shot? It wouldn't have to be conventional. You don't do relationships, I don't do relationships. What if we had a non-relationship... together?"

"I just, I can't do this right now Barney," Robin said. "I'm sorry, I have to go." She got up and all but ran out the door, leaving Barney sitting alone in the booth.

After sitting staring at the door that Robin just fled through for what felt like hours he stood up and raised his glass. "Drinks are on me," he shouted, eliciting cheers from the bars' other drunken patrons, and walked over to the hot blonde sitting at the counter.


	3. Something She Considers

"Robin!" Lily called as she walked through the front door, having used the key that Robin had given her to get in. "Do you have any idea how much I had to pay a cab to drive all this way this late at night? Talk about price gouging."

She walked into the apartment and found Robin sitting on her couch, staring at a huge glass of wine.

"Oh gosh, what happened?" Lily asked, sitting down next to Robin. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"What?" Robin asked distractedly. "Um, yeah, I'm alright. Thanks for coming over. I didn't realize it was so late when I called."

"Yeah, it's no problem. Now, are you going to tell me why you called or are we going to sit here and stare at wine all night?"

"Sorry, yeah. Um, I guess I'm just kinda in shock. It's just, I talked with Barney tonight..." she was cut off by Lily.

"Ahhh."

"'Ahhh'? What do you mean 'Ahhh'?" she asked, not having expected this reaction from her friend.

"Well, he told you about how he feels, didn't he?"

"Oh my God, he told you? Wait, who else knows?"

"He didn't tell me. Well, he kinda told me," Lily responded. "I figured it out myself, mostly"

"So then he was serious? I mean, he wasn't just messing with me? God, he looked so sincere, but I didn't think he could possibly be serious and I kinda freaked a bolted. I just... what am I supposed to do?"

"Well, you have to ask yourself how you feel about him and go from there," Lily said.

There was a long silence between them.

"Robin, how _do _you feel about Barney?"

"I... I don't know. I never really considered the idea of Barney, you know? I mean, he's Barney - I don't do relationships, or commitment, or anything coupley - Stinson."

"Well, sure there's that."

"And not only that, but I don't feel the same way as he does. I mean, feelings for Barney?"

"Are you sure, Robin?" Lily asked, trying to stay patient through her friends ignorance. "I mean really think about it. How he makes you laugh, how it's so easy to be around him, how he likes all the same things that you do, how he's always there for you when you need him. Think of how you spent everyday with him at the hospital, and then helped him when he was released - far more than is necessary, by the way. We've all seen it in you, Robin. How your eyes light up when you see him, how you laugh way harder at his jokes then you need to. How can we... I mean, I see it and you can't? Don't you see you two would be like, perfect together?"

"I... but... holy shit... when the hell did this happen?!" Robin asked after coming to the realization that Lily was right.

"It's been happening, Robin. It's just one of those things that build up with time. And believe me, he feels the same way about you. He went out on a limb tonight when he confessed that to you. Can you imagine how hard it must have been for him to come clean?"

"I know, I know. And, oh God, his face when I left. But Lily, he used the word 'relationship'. Barney never uses the word relationship unless he's making fun of Ted or proclaiming how very against the whole idea of a relationship he is."

"Well maybe he's changing, Robin. It does tend to happen to all of us eventually. Maybe he can become the kind of guy who can be in a relationship. I mean, he's done it before. Sure it ended bad for him, but it proves he is capable of it."

"Oh God, Shannon. He said he was taking a big risk by having romantic feelings for someone again and I just blew him off."

"Robin, honestly, do you think you could ever possibly have something with him?" Lily asked hopefully.

"I don't know, maybe?" Robin said. "Oh gosh, what am I going to do? Give it a shot? But if it doesn't work won't things be all weird?"

"Robin, things weren't weird when you broke up with Ted."

"It was a little bit, actually. You know... before you got back," Robin replied reluctantly.

"Oh. Right."

"And Barney was the one who really kept me in the group with his friendship. I could have easily fallen out if it weren't for him. Despite his obvious flaws, he's a really great friend. What if we decide to try this and it doesn't work out? I don't want to ruin our friendship."

"Somethings are worth taking risks for, Robin."

"I know," Robin sighed.

"Sooo... what are you going to do?" Lily asked.

"Right now, I'm going to sit here and drink this wine."

"And after that?"

"I guess I have some things to discuss with Barney."

"Is there anything I can do?"

"Yeah, just, sit here and get drunk with me?"

"Sure, no problem," Lily replied and got up to get herself a glass of wine.


	4. Something He Regrets

"Are you sure he said he was at MacClaren's, Ted?" Marshall asked as they walked down the stairs together. It was 8 in the morning Ted had just got off the phone with Barney.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Ted responded.

"And we're going down there now, why again?" Marshall asked, clearly peeved about having to get up so early on a Sunday morning.

"You know, I don't know," Ted replied. "He sounded drunk, though, so there could be an entertainment value here. And it's not like Lily's here to make us pancakes this morning. Where'd she go, anyway?"

"Robin's, I guess. She called late last night and Lily agreed to go over there. Didn't think she'd be gone this long, though," Marshall said as they finally reached the door to MacClaren's. They were slightly surprised to find the door open and Barney sitting alone at their usual booth.

"Ok, what's wrong, Barney?" he asked, walking over.

"Wrong? No, what makes you think something's wrong? Nothing's wrong. What's wrong with you?"

"God, you're drunk," Ted replied, ignoring Barney's protest of "No, you're drunk."

"You smell like a brewery, Barney. How are you here so early anyway?" Marshall asked. "They're not open for hours yet."

"Oh that," Barney responded, waiving his hand at Marshall dismissively. "Gave Carl some money to let me stay. Not sure how much, though. I should probably check my bank account because it's possible I bought MacClaren's last night."

"So you've stayed here all night drinking by yourself and nothing's wrong?"

"By myself? Puhlease. Cindy left a couple hours ago. Was it Cindy? Candy? Janet? Whatever. So yeah, not here by myself," Barney replied drunkenly.

"Barney, really, what's up?" Ted asked, going behind the bar to get Barney a glass of water while Marshall took away the bottle of scotch from the table.

"You wanna know what's up? You _reeeally_ wanna know what's up?" Barney demanded.

"Uh, yeah."

"What is _up_ is that Ted Mosby gives out the worst advice ever. 'You gotta tell her Barney.' 'She needs to know, Barney.' That is the _last_ time I listen to _you_, Ted Mosby."

"Oooh," Ted said, realizing what Barney was talking about. Marshall, having been woken up too early, was clearly not thinking as fast.

"What? What happened?" he asked.

"Barney told Robin last night," Ted whispered.

"Oooh," Marshall whispered back. "I'm guessing she didn't take it too well."

"Yeah, I guess not," Ted said, still whispering.

"I'm sitting right here, you know," Barney chimed in. "I can hear you whispering."

"Right, sorry," Ted muttered.

"So what are you going to do?" Marshall inquired as he and Ted sat at the booth.

"Do? Do about what?" Barney asked as he tried to reach for the bottle of scotch that Marshall had taken away. He frowned when Marshall just pulled it further away.

"Barney," Ted started. "You can't just drink this away. You're going to have to face this."

"No, you would have to face it, Ted. I'm just going to pretend it never happened. I'm sure Robin will agree to that. She did before." Marshall and Ted didn't have to ask to know what Barney was referring to.

"So for tonight," Barney said, changing the subject. "I was thinking we'd go to that new club that opened around the corner and pick up some hot chicks."

"Barney," Ted tried to interrupt.

"Well, you can help me pick up chicks. Wouldn't want your women to get mad at you, would we?"

"Barney," Marshall tried.

"If we strike out there we can come back here and Ted'll be my wing-man. It'll be legen- wait for it..."

"Barney!" Ted and Marshall yelled together.

"What?!" Barney cried. "You told me to tell her, Ted! You told me she felt the same way! Well I have to tell you, if she does, the girl deserves an Oscar, because she was damn good at acting like she doesn't. So I took your advice and it sucked. And guess what? You're not always right! I don't even know what I was thinking. I don't do relationships, why would I suggest one of any caliber to _anyone_? The thought is just ridiculous."

"It's not ridiculous, and I'll tell you what you were thinking," Ted said. "You were thinking you've finally found someone that you could picture being with." Ted ignored Barney's sarcastic laugh and accompanied 'Please'. "You were thinking you have feelings for her and that it'd be nice if she reciprocated those feelings. You were thinking it wouldn't be such a bad idea to finally drop your 'I'm so much more awesome then everyone' act and allow someone into your life."

"No, Ted, that's what you were thinking. And now I'm thinking that it's about time I get out of here," Barney said, getting up and stumbled a bit. Marshall jumped up right away and grabbed his arm to steady him.

"Barney, wait," Ted said and Barney stopped and turned around. "I'm sorry it didn't work. For what it's worth, I was really hoping it would."

"Yeah, I know. It's fine. I don't blame you. It was just my own stupidity. I'm just going to go grab a cab and go home," Barney responded and headed for the door again.

"We could give you a lift, you know," Marshall suggested, but Barney shot him down.

"I'd just rather be alone right now, ok?"

"Yeah, sure. Call me if you need anything, alright?" Ted said and Barney nodded his head, affirming that he would indeed call him. Marshall and Ted watched as he stumbled out of the building, slightly surprised that he hadn't passed out yet.

It wasn't until the door shut that Ted turned to Marshall.

"Shit," he muttered. And Marshall could only nod in reply.


	5. Something He'll Avoid

"Ok, remember," Ted explained. "Tonight's mission is to cheer up Barney."

"Not that I'm not game, but do you really think he's going to need cheering up?" Lily asked.

"You didn't see him this morning, baby," Marshall answered. "He was pretty messed up."

"Yeah," Ted agreed. "I've never seen him that bad before. So tonight is all about him. Whatever he wants to do... as long as it's legal. And if it's not legal, he needs to have a foolproof plan for us not to get caught." Marshall laughed while Lily just rolled her eyes. Ted paused before opening the door to the bar and took a deep breath. "Well, here it goes."

They were ready for the worst. Ready for Barney sulking and drunk. Barney irritable and drunk. Heck they were ready for Barney crying and drunk. What they weren't ready for was Barney chatting up twins at the counter. Ted looked over at Lily and Marshall and watched as they had another of their telepathic conversations. When they were finished they nodded at each other and then smiled at Ted before walking over to their usual booth.

"Great," he called to them. "I'll just... go talk to him myself," he trailed off, now talking to himself. He walked over to the bar.

"Hey Barney, whatcha doin'?"

"Ted! Hey, I was just talking to Sara and Sophie here. I was telling them how I almost lost my leg over in Iraq," Barney said.

"Oh... yeah," Ted replied, looking at the girls and putting on a mock proud face. "He was very brave. The physical therapy was hard on us all, but it was worth it to have him back on his feet and we're just so glad that he's back now. Hey Barney, can I talk to you, please?"

"Oh yeah, sure," Barney said. "Ladies, I'll see you later." He winked at the girls and followed Ted over to the booth.

"Totally seeing _them_ later," he said, sliding in next to Ted. He nodded his thanks to Wendy when she came over with a refill on his drink.

"What's going on, Barney?" Lily asked.

"Just the usual; hitting on poor, insecure, unsuspecting woman who are unable to resist The Barnacle. Also, I kinda own MacClaren's now. Weird, huh? So free drinks for us tonight," he said, raising his glass to her before downing his drink.

"Well you certainly seem better than the last time we saw you," Marshall said.

"Oh that? Yeah, momentarily took a vacay from awesomeness. Someone told me that it's not good to overdue the awesome," Barney paused while Lily and Ted shared a look. "But The Barnacle is back, and he's going to go home with those two lovely ladies by the bar."

"Barney, wait," Lily stopped him. "What about, you know, Robin?"

"Look, she took off last night. If we had been in a cartoon there would have been a dust trail after her she booked so fast. Clearly, it's not going to happen. So if you'll excuse me," he said and started to stand when Robin walked through the door. He sat down quickly and started fidgeting. He ignored the look that Lily shot him.

"Hey Robin," Marshall welcomed cheerfully, moving closer to Lily to make room for Robin to sit.

"Hi," she returned with a small smile. "Umm, Barney, can I talk to you?"

"Um, I, just," Barney spluttered. "Actually, I was just leaving. Have to take care of... buisness." He got up quickly from the table and headed for the door, only stopping breifly to whisper something to the blonde twins. Robin frowned as they followed him seconds later. She sighed and sat down.


End file.
